The six public universities of Madrid join the ELLIS Artificial Intelligence Network to attract international talent

The European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) has added another unit to its network of excellence: the ELLIS Madrid Unit. An alliance of professors and researchers from the six public universities of the Community of Madrid that constitutes the ELLIS Unit number 35 and the second ELLIS Unit in Spain.

The Complutense; the Autonomous; the Carlos III; that of Alcalá, the Polytechnic and the Rey Juan Carlos will connect their experience in machine learning within the ELLIS network with the aim of creating a new research environment that attracts international talent to the Madrid region. This Unit will be directed by Pedro Larrañaga, and co-directed by Concha Bielza, both professors at the Polytechnic University of Madrid.

The Complutense University is represented in the ELLIS Unit in Madrid through its Information and Quantum Computing Group (GICC) of the Faculty of Physical Sciences, directed by Miguel A. Martín-Delgado, Professor of Theoretical Physics and ELLIS Fellow.

ELLIS is a pan-European network of excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) founded in 2018 that brings together the best AI researchers in different parts of Europe meeting a series of strict criteria to ensure excellence and the highest level of competitiveness on an international scale.

The ELLIS Madrid Unit will focus on the development of innovative and interpretable causal machine learning methods based on probability theory for dynamic scenarios (longitudinal, temporal, data flows). Its members aim not only to conduct world-class research in methodological and applied machine learning, but also to develop excellent training programs for future leaders in this field. Located in the Madrid region, which is home to numerous companies and startups, the unit also plans to establish long-term projects with the industry to attract international talent.

The Quantum Information and Computing Group (GICC) of the Complutense Faculty of Physical Sciences is a pioneer in the formulation and development of quantum machine learning and quantum artificial intelligence (AI). He has developed the first quantum agents with a proven quantum advantage over their classical analogues. He has developed quantum optimization algorithms with applications in logistics, quantum methods for solving linear equations, robust data classifiers, bioinformatics, etc. More generally, the GICC group has been a pioneer in quantum computing research in Spain and in its teaching, offering the first master's degrees in these disciplines at the Complutense University.

“The ELLIS Madrid Unit aims to promote high-impact excellence research, knowledge transfer and industrial innovation. Probabilistic graphical models, Bayesian statistics, statistical learning theory, time series, signal processing and quantum computing are the core specialties of the ELLIS Madrid Unit, enriched by areas of application such as biometrics, computer vision , health, renewable energies and the climate, as well as robotics and intelligent vehicles”, points out Concha Bielza, professor of Statistics and Operations Research. “Being part of the ELLIS network will mean promoting synergies between the academic world and technology companies in the region,” adds Pedro Larrañaga, Professor of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.